From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chapter 477 Operation Alarm
"Scale? What scale do you want?"

Political Commissar Tian Baoguo had only been there a short time and was not very familiar with Chen Jun's style of doing things, so he did not understand Chen Jun's suggestive words.

"Political Commissar, I understand what Lao Chen means. He wants to know whether we should be ruthless and hard-hitting in this operation, or be gentle and teach them a lesson before stopping."

Gao Cheng and Chen Jun are similar in many ways; he also likes to stir up trouble, so he took the initiative to step forward and explain.

"Would it be effective if we went easy on them? Good medicine tastes bitter. Since the higher-ups have assigned us this task, we must go all out. Otherwise, why would they assign this mission to our Steel Seventh Brigade?" Deputy Political Commissar Ma Tianxiang expressed his personal opinion.

"I think the magnitude of the disturbance depends on the size of the vulnerability."

Intelligence officer Qiu Ming said from a professional perspective: "Some units have a weak sense of security. They don't update their firewalls for six months and don't take the initiative to conduct self-inspections."

For organizations like this, we need to be tougher and make a bigger fuss to teach them a lesson.

However, there are some units that, although not critical departments, have repeatedly given warnings but have not responded. How to deal with them is worth considering.

"Brigade Commander, these units have special circumstances. How do you think we should handle this?"

"Are you talking about the equipment and vehicle factory of the V Group Army?" Gao Cheng asked.

"Mm." Qiu Ming nodded.

Faced with the question posed by the intelligence staff, Brigade Commander Wang Qingrui pondered for a moment and then said, "There is a proper order to things. For these units that are not critical, let's be a little gentler."

"What kind of gentleness are you talking about?" Chen Jun asked in return.

"What I mean is to stop here."

After answering, Wang Qingrui continued, "However, if it's like the Y Group Army's fuel depot, we must give it a serious talking-to. It was one of the prominent problems that the J Committee inspection team discovered when they came to the war zone for inspection."

"The J Commission inspection team? That's quite a force to be reckoned with," the battalion commander exclaimed.

“Since it was the J Commissioner who personally came down to inspect and discovered many problems in the war zone, we probably can’t be too lenient. Even if we stop short of pointing out the problems, we must hit the nail on the head and not just scratch the surface,” Chen Jun said seriously.

"Chen Jun understands me best," Wang Qingrui said with a smile.

"Brigade Commander, you really know how to play the game. You were supposed to be the one assigning tasks, but you let others handle all the plans. You've become a hands-off manager, haha," Tian Baoguo teased.

"Our team is full of talented people, wouldn't it be a waste not to use them? Haha."

Wang Qingrui's words showed a high level of emotional intelligence, making everyone laugh. He then continued, "The core of this operation is to sound the alarm. When you come up with a plan, you must focus on this core."

"The timing of the knock is also crucial," Gao Cheng said.

"How loudly you knock is also crucial," Qiu Ming said.

"It's also crucial to decide which units to prioritize and which to give less attention to," the second battalion commander said.

"Should our army aviation battalion be deployed?" the battalion commander asked.

……

Everyone started talking, discussing and asking all sorts of questions, making the atmosphere in the room lively.

Wang Qingrui listened quietly to the discussion, feeling rather powerless to handle the situation.

However, as a seasoned veteran, he handled the situation with ease.

After everyone had finished their discussion, Wang Qingrui smiled and called out to him, "Chief of Staff, you are good at combat command. This is also a battle, so I'll put you in command again. You can decide what to do. I'm sure no one will have any objections."

Chen Jun's abilities are beyond doubt, not to mention his standing in everyone's hearts.

As Wang Qingrui finished speaking...

Everyone turned to look at Chen Jun.

Chen Jun was used to leading people to cause trouble, to commanding various operations, and to the trust of the people, so he showed no humility or modesty.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Our superiors have put us in charge of this safety awareness campaign, whether it's foresight or a sense of urgency."

Good sailors cannot be trained in calm waters; they mature through storms.

Since the task assigned to our 7th Steel Brigade by our superiors is to improve the combat effectiveness of the troops through various means, we must play the role of the villain.

Instead of waiting for our superiors to formulate a plan and order us to move forward, we should take the initiative to create enemy situations and prick their numb nerves.

As for what methods to use to hurt them, that depends on what kind of organization the other party is.

Depending on the specific circumstances of each unit, we can implement corresponding action plans. There are too many units involved to explain in just a few words.

I will take the time to organize it properly and try to make the plan as perfect as possible.

As for when the official operation will take place, we'll discuss that after I've finalized the detailed plan and the brigade commander submits it to Chief of Staff Shen for review.

Chen Jun did not directly explain the detailed plan, but only outlined his ideas.

"Chief of Staff Chen is absolutely right."

Wang Qingrui, speaking on behalf of Chen Jun, said, "Now that our Steel Seventh Brigade has come out of the mountains, waiting is not our style; taking the initiative is the only way to live up to our mission."

Upon receiving Chief of Staff Shen's order, Wang Qingrui immediately organized a meeting of the core members of the 7th Steel Brigade and clearly defined Chen Jun as the core of command.

After the final discussions, the attack plan was designated "Operation Alarm."

The objective is to organize a test exercise within the theater of operations' army units, primarily focused on defending against information infiltration by hostile forces, with other forms of infiltration as secondary objectives.

Meanwhile, the 7th Steel Brigade once again played the role of the enemy, launching attacks on the security vulnerabilities of various units at opportune moments.

The purpose of the decision was to test the daily safety awareness and work of various units of the theater army. However, this decision unexpectedly caused a huge uproar in the theater army.

……

The next morning.

After working overtime through the night, Chen Jun finally finished writing the alarm action plan at nine o'clock in the morning and delivered it to Brigade Commander Wang Qingrui's office.

Wang Qingrui specifically called the political commissar over to review the action plan written by Chen Jun.

“Okay, no problem at all, the quality is very high, and we should be able to take action tonight.” After carefully reviewing the action plan, Wang Qingrui was very satisfied with its contents. He picked up his pen, signed the plan, and handed it to the political commissar next to him.

Once Political Commissar Tian Baoguo has also signed the document, Wang Qingrui will be able to send the plan to Chief of Staff Shen.

"Chief of Staff Chen is very efficient. He can write such a good plan in one night. I think this plan is good. It can be sent up without any changes."

Political Commissar Tian Baoguo praised Chen Jun lavishly and then began to sign his name on the document.

Just as Tian Baoguo was signing, Chen Jun suddenly brought up his idea: "Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, I had an idea while I was writing the plan."

"Your thoughts? Tell me about them," Wang Qingrui said curiously.

Political Commissar Tian Baoguo stopped signing and looked at Chen Jun with the same curiosity.

"Can we hold off on submitting our action plan for now? Can we submit it after the operation begins?" Chen Jun asked expectantly.

"Not reporting it yet? We're taking action tonight. If you don't report it now, when do you plan to?" Tian Baoguo was surprised.

"I haven't decided yet. Should we report it tomorrow? Anyway, let's talk about it after tonight, as long as it's not now," Chen Jun said tentatively.

"This won't do. This is a military operation that requires the deployment of troops and equipment. If we don't ask for permission or report beforehand, that would be a very serious violation of rules and regulations," Tian Baoguo said seriously.

"Violation of rules and regulations? It can't be that serious."

Chen Jun smiled and said seriously, "We are the professional enemy force designated by the war zone. Since we are the enemy, we have to be the enemy."

"If you report in advance before taking action, what enemy would play that game with you?"

From a narrative perspective, Chen Jun's logic is actually sound, but in reality, it really is just as Tian Baoguo said.

“During combat exercises, you can do whatever you want, but this is daily life. You’re making such a huge fuss, conducting military operations without even letting your superiors know. It’s too reckless. I absolutely do not approve of it,” Tian Baoguo firmly opposed.

"Chen Jun, what is your reason for doing this?" Wang Qingrui did not immediately object.

"The reason is to prevent leaks. Everyone knows the saying 'the camp remains, but the soldiers come and go.' Who can guarantee that people in the war zone headquarters won't leak relevant information to their old units?"

Chen Jun's suspicions were not unfounded. After all, it was important to know that someone still leaked information about such an important event as the large-scale confrontation exercise held by the military region.

Given the wide scope of this alert operation, the possibility of information leaks is even higher.

“I know that Chief of Staff Shen had already notified all units of Operation Alarm before calling me over, so even if they know, it shouldn’t have much of an impact,” Wang Qingrui said, frowning.

"Indeed, the notice has been issued. They will definitely make preparations for the obvious problems, but in addition to the obvious ones, there are also the hidden ones. The problems that the J Commission's inspection team uncovered during their undercover investigations are the main targets of my action plan. If they are leaked in advance, what will we be able to do?"

Wang Qingrui was aware of what Chen Jun was saying, and even added: "Among the targets of this inspection team, there are eight large military units at the army level, forty brigade-level units, seven military academies, and three field hospitals."

They were scrutinizing the problems and identifying weaknesses with their eyes wide open, and they did indeed uncover a lot of issues. The USB drive that Chief of Staff Shen gave me contains detailed records of all of them.

Since these circumstances haven't been communicated, they are currently unaware of the situation, making maintaining confidentiality a crucial matter.

With the support of Brigade Commander Wang Qingrui's words, Chen Jun felt even more confident.

He continued, "Actually, our first operation should be very small-scale and short-lived. I estimate it will be over in ten minutes at most."

If we want to play it well, effectively, and satisfy the commanders in the theater, we must emphasize its suddenness, randomness, and unexpectedness.

In case of a leak at any stage of the reporting process, the operation fails to achieve its intended effect.

If the commanders of the war zone are dissatisfied and think that our Steel Seven Travel is not motivated enough and cannot even do this kind of thing well, it will have a more negative impact.

Therefore, it's best if Chief of Staff Shen doesn't know the specific action plan beforehand.

Chen Jun had made things very clear and was trying his best to persuade Political Commissar Tian Baoguo, since the matter had to be approved by the political commissar before it could be implemented.

Wang Qingrui definitely supports Chen Jun and has basically been persuaded by him.

So he didn't say anything more at that point.

However, Tian Baoguo's firm ideology, as a political commissar, was a good thing, but at this moment it turned into a bad thing, making it impossible for him to explain himself.

Chen Jun's explanation failed to convince him, and Tian Baoguo insisted, "I think we should report it first and get approval from our superiors before taking any action."

If even the responsible leader is unaware, what if something goes wrong and accountability is pursued? Can our newly established Steel Seventh Brigade bear the responsibility?
If one of the leaders gets angry and takes us to file a complaint, that would be a huge problem.

Don't forget, the 7th Steel Brigade is still in its assessment period and hasn't passed the higher-ups' evaluation yet. If something goes wrong, all our efforts will have been in vain.

What Tian Baoguo said actually makes sense, and his concerns are not unfounded.

If the Seventh Steel Brigade fails the assessment in the end, it will be hard for Tian Baoguo to accept, after all, he paid a great price to join the Seventh Steel Brigade.

He was also thinking of joining the first combined arms brigade in this war zone and reaching the pinnacle of his military career.

Chen Jun could understand Tian Baoguo's thoughts, but he still had to stick to his own approach. The conventional Seventh Steel Brigade was not what he wanted.

Breaking with convention and embarking on a wave of reform, we will achieve a major information technology reform across the entire military.

This is what Chen Jun wanted.

So even though Tian Baoguo objected repeatedly, Chen Jun still tried his best to persuade him, saying, "I would like to ask the political commissar, is the purpose of this alarm exercise to remind all units to strengthen their defenses?"

“Yes.” Tian Baoguo nodded.

“These preventative measures should have been the responsibility of these units themselves. The fact that they are now riddled with loopholes is a result of their own lack of awareness and negligence. I don’t need to act as their patrolman.” Chen Jun tried to persuade them from another angle.

“As the opposing force, it is only right for us to remind them to take measures and make immediate improvements,” Tian Baoguo insisted on his idea.

"Now is not the time to learn from Lei Feng and do good deeds. This time, we are not reminding them; the purpose of this exercise is to wake them up."

Chen Jun raised his voice and said, "If we remind them once today and again tomorrow, they will develop a habit over time, which will only make things worse."

They'll say later, "The Seventh Steel Brigade can handle anything, so we can rest easy."

If the commander asks again who found this loophole, and the answer is the 7th Steel Brigade, then the 7th Steel Brigade will be praised and the Oil Steel Brigade will continue to be in charge. Wouldn't we then become babysitters?
If we fail to remind them in time, wouldn't it be entirely our fault?
Can you tolerate this kind of behavior?

(End of this chapter)